The brutal attack against one lone graduating pupil (russ) out of four with a foreign background has provoked strong reactions. The police now confirm that they have launched an investigation and are giving the case high priority.
– The police have initiated an investigation into the case. The injured party has been identified, we have been in contact with him and ensured that he has been appointed a victim support counsel (bistandsadvokat). He will be questioned this week, says prosecuting authority representative Linn Mari Søfteland of the Western Police District (Vest politidistrikt) to Document.
On 17 May, four foreigners attacked a lone russ near Burger King in central Bergen. The video has provoked enormous reactions and spread across social media. Several media outlets have chosen to remove the video from their platforms after people were furious in the comments sections.
The video shows four persons dressed in suits, who appear to originate from the Middle East or North Africa, brutally beating, kicking, and striking a blåruss who is 17 years old and ethnically Norwegian.
The persons have been censored, as we do not know whether they are minors.
The police are said to have succeeded in identifying two of the perpetrators and confirm that they are fully confident that they will identify the two remaining individuals within a short time.
– In addition, we have so far identified two of the four persons from the video and are fully confident that we will shortly have identified the final two as well. As soon as the injured party has given his statement, we will question the suspects. This case is being given high priority, says Søfteland.
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Two separate witnesses have explained that the russ who was attacked did not behave provocatively prior to the incident. One described that the injured party walked through the group in the middle of the city centre, and that this was allegedly perceived as disrespectful.